Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum First real RPT tuning experience today

Yah, it is difficult to lift an action from a flat floor. I also use a blanket for protecting the top of the piano, and prefer to work where things are easy to reach. Don Mannino carries a purple 'Barney' blanket for that, preferring a thin blanket that rolls up small.

I will also pull the action and place it on a protected bench (see above), but only so I don't have to lift it from the ground. You can't regulate or adjust anything when the action is not properly supported.

Given a newish Yamaha; looks like the issue was tight balance rail holes on the keys. Typical issue with Yamaha grand or upright. I always stress to the customer that I MUCH prefer that the keys start a tick tight. Much better than too loose! It is always part of my 'prep' for Yamaha instruments, and my local dealership always includes that basic attention to detail on their pianos.

I also prefer to give the keypins a quick treatment with a lubricant, as long as I have the top action off the keyframe of the piano. Simple friction-treatment like this goes a long way to improving function and reliability.

Sounds like your tech knows his business, and how to help you get the most from your piano.

Good!

Hi Jeff!

First off, I actually offered to put a protective cover either on top of our piano or dining room table. He said he actually prefers to work on the floor.

Second, your are exactly right about the balance rail holes being too tight on about half of the keys. He did lubricate all of the keypins, and stressed that "a little too tight" is far better than "a little too loose". In fact, for key 56 he had to go back and re-loosen the rail hole about 6 or 7 seven times, before it was satisfactory.

Thanks for your expertise on the matter.

P.S. I finally had a chance to actually practice last night. The keys are a tad bit smoother (very good) and the tuning on the upper registers are now spot-on (great!). The bad news is, I hear the voicing issues he demonstrated yesterday from roughly A2 through G2 (not good).

When Sally Phillips came to my place to check out some of the work I had done on my Yamaha C7, she had a tool bag that weighed almost as much as she did. Plus, she had additional tool bags in her car, along with a fancy action stand on rollers that could be adjusted to any height. I knew right away I had made a good choice in who I was going to let “probe” into my C7.

It had been a while since I had tuned the C7 and right off she said it was way out of tune. Hurt my feelings a bit, but I told her it had been a while since I had tuned it.

She showed me what a real, concert tuning was… her tuning was much better than mine, but hey, I’m getting better at it all the time. Of course, it was a humbling experience for me (which I needed).

Next, she pulled the action and set it on her fancy action stand and re-did the hammer re-shaping and gave me some good pointers there. She also did some regulation and gave me some pointers there as well. The one-on-one piano tech lesson/training alone was worth what I paid her.

When she was finished I sat down and give it try, and played a little bit of Jerry Lee Lewis style boogie-woogie… she complemented me on my playing and said she used to tune for Jerry Lee Lewis, Jimmy Swaggart, and Stevie Wonder, as well as other well-known artists. When she told me that, it made me feel like a celebrity!

My hat is off to the top technicians out there who really know what they are doing and work hard at it day in and day out.

Rick

Hey BrianDX, glad it went well.

I wouldn't worry about not doing the voicing right now. It gave you time to hear the voicing as he does. Same here, my tech wants to voice a "too bright treble". I wanted it brighter but now I'm kind of hearing what he told me to listen for. So next time we'll discuss the voicing issue.

IMHO, I'm going along with terminal (on reimbursement). In a small market area (with a dealer selling to potential clients), I would want to be on that dealer's good side. After all, he's in a position to recommend techs.

I was a little surprised to see the action on the carpet too thinking dust and dirt getting in the action but he knows best. I saw the contraception that Rick mentioned, very cool. If I were a tech, I would have that for every job, very clever.

Glad it all went as well as my similar learning experience. I was very relieved to land my tech as he shows patience with questions and a willingness to teach. I've come to understand more with every visit. Coming from a digital, this is a whole new paradigm for me too......blob

Hi. I just want to add something that should be said. Having a good technician work on your piano is very important obviously. But I know some very good technicians of very high caliber who are not RPT's. I also knew some RPT's who have only the basic understanding of regulation, voicing, and tuning.

The RPT exam is difficult for beginners, but they can pass it in about 3 to 4 years of part-time study. A veteran of 30 years, RPT or not, could have a tremendous amount more knowledge and experience than is possible in those four short years.

The RPT designation guarantees a minumum standard but doesn't guarantee an exceptional technician. For that, you still have to do your homework.

Contraption?

(Although I suppose having contraception for every piano job wouldn't hurt either...)

Come to think of it, I don't think I've needed any contraception for any piano jobs so far. But you never know, and it is always god to take precautions.

Does god take precautions or use contraptions?

Oops - I forgot about a deus ex machina.

good lord,

I hate spell check!!! I never caught that. I hit send and off it went into the "idiot hall of fame spell -checker corrections"!

I know I cover everything up on my piano but I don't go this far! However, if my tech declares on day it has contracted an STD, I'm going to be pretty upset I didn't install a birth control device.

PS..........After looking at the action stand, I thought it was the best description........but in a nice way. lol.........blob

A sort of piano prophylactic? I suppose that's a good idea if you expect to be getting some action. Bwaaaa hahahaha!!

Well -- Blob is known for his hand crocheted pedal booties. And all this time Trojan has been making the perfect product.

Introducing the new Risky & Offspring STD-190.

I love it when my thread gets hijacked and gets down in the gutter.

No, really, I like it!

Well, we all agree that a highly skilled technician can do wonders with almost any decent piano. Welcome to the Enlightenment of Orgasmic Pianism.

It's not "down to the gutter," it's the ultimate of contraptionism!

It is something you need for reproducing pianos.

This thread has taken an awkward and rather adult oriented path... if it continues in this direction it will take the path of no return.

Rick

Aw Rick,

Slightly risqué, possibly. But it is hardly raunchy and has been quite clever. Any youngsters reading it won't get it or they'll just titter in that typically adolescent way. Most of the puns would only be understood by mature musicians, anyway.

One serious question about regulation stability. I assume that once regulated properly this is not something that I have to allocate time and money to during each tuning?

Brian, you are correct. A detailed regulation will last for years when it is done properly. Many fine techs will touch up an errant note or two when needed and usually don't charge extra. Once a piano has been voiced to the owner's satisfaction, minor touch-up is no big deal and lasts for a number of years with 'normal' playing.

Be nice to your tech. Chocolate chip cookies, warm out of the oven, go a long way toward all sorts of stability.

you guys are killing me.......sorry for the highjack BrianDX but I don't think I could have resisted posting a quip myself!

on a more serious note, I have to take care to keep the RH and temp as even as possible (and that's really hard to do in my situation) prior to my tech's visit. If he tunes when the soundboard is moving, it just goes out of tune all the faster.

rickster......I just referenced this again in MM's thread before reading your post here. It was all in fun, sorry.